Conversations from the Sky
by Angry Nazar
Summary: A duel on a random rooftop is disturbed by a random police. It, along with the owner of the rooftop, makes for strange phenomena. Inspired by Forbidden City Cop. Contains no implication of Kazuto/Rika, but no Kazuto/Asuna, either.


_DISCLAIMER:_

_Sword Art Online _(c)Kawahara Reki. _Genshiryoku_ (official English title: _Nuclear Power_) (c) Stealth Man. The first half of this story is inspired from a scene in _Forbidden Cop City _(aka _Imperial Secret Agent 008_). I made up most non-canon names, though not without any references. Bear in mind that at the time of writing, Susumu Hirasawa (with the proper 'family name – given name' format East Asians use, his name would be written as _Hirasawa Susumu_) is a living, real-life person (in our world, probably in the time and space (the real one, obviously – there's just no sense a 70-plus-year-old musician plays ALfheim Online :p) this story is supposed to happen as well).

_(I'd much rather use terms 'given/family name' over 'first/last name' when it comes on names, particularly East Asian ones, for this reason: some people write those names with the family name first, which suits the original culture, and some others with the given name first, which better suits Western habit of 'given name – family name'. For this fic, I'm going to write family name first in cases where full names are mentioned.)_

_Oh well, after months of hiatus, I guess it's time to break free and hatch this ... thing. _

_*pulls the handbreak so the author's notes stops*_

* * *

X(O.o -0- o.O)X

* * *

_4 September 2027, 2305 server time  
Floor 44 – Vesuvio – atop a rooftop_

Four men – one male in a black cloak, another, female, in a white cloak, and two others, one of each gender, wearing gray cloaks – were settling above the rooftop of someone's house after they jumped from place to place. The woman in in gray, has a long, black hair, and the one in white has a blue one that is slightly shorter, wearing a yellow headband that runs across her head and below her braid. The man in black has a rather long black hair for a male, and the one in gray has a short, dark brown hair.

For your notice, all four of them are frontline fighters. Then, the frontline lies at 61st Floor. Four of the bigger frontier guilds –_ Yellow Turban Revolutionaries_, _The Black Temptress _(along with its brother-guild, _The Blackguard Hussars_), and _English Socialism_ – along with the usual assortments of solo players and other, smaller guilds have just defeated the (revised) boss of 60th Floor, _The Sakura Raiders_. This boss, instead of a single big monster, is more like a swarm of player-sized monsters, eighty-eight of them to be exact, that comes in four waves of twenty-two. Alone, one of them weren't particularly strong, but together, thanks to their sheer number, they have nearly cleared every single scouting teams sent to assess them if not for the fact that one can simply retreat from the room the boss was fought on – at least, for the scouting parties.

"Tonight, you, Minamoto, and I, Hirasawa, are glad to watch the closed duel of the two men," started the man in gray. I'd bet that he chose his ALO username after his favorite musician, _Hirasawa_ Susumu.

"Kirito's sword and Asuna's rapier are yet to be seen, yet I think I can smell it," added the woman in gray. They agreed to use a pair of weapon Hirasawa and Minamoto have asked Lisbeth to smith, so their main swords, usually used during the course of the game, can be saved from the risk of breaking. He only disclosed to her that he needed a white rapier, and she, a black long-sword, using materials they've given to her separately. Of course, they've met Liz separately as well. By then, she had no idea that the two men were related from the beginning, let alone that Kirito and Asuna were related to them.

"His blade, _The Macuahuitl_, just as black as his attires, is made of quality steel, with obsidian ingot mixed in. It is 87 centimeters long, and weighs around 1,1 kilogram. Her rapier, _Conquistador_, is made of an alloy of a rare white ore and steel, forged into a rapier with an astounding power. It is 94 centimeters long, and weighs quite a bit less than his at 900 grams," Minamoto continued.

"Ssh, I'm not interested on the specs of their weapon, Minamoto-chan, ...," Hirasawa interrupted.

(BTW, there are rumors in the frontline that they've married, given how he adresses her (this -chan honorific have appeared at times, even in the frontline, when he addresses her), at least in-game, but I digress.)

"Neither the readers are. But enough speaking, it looks like the fight is going to be started," Minamoto interrupted in return.

After Kirito accepted the duel request Asuna sent, he said to Minamoto, "Oi, Minamoto-san, when are you going to stop your habit of breaking the fourth wall?" Asuna watched the scene in indifference, then said, "Kirito-kun, are you ready to face the Unholy Delay?"

"Asuna, I'm ready for it. You'd better brace yourself, too," is all that he said. She then winds up for Unholy Delay, moving her rapier wildly for quite some time while chanting the spell before letting her blade glow and pointing the rapier upwards. All that time, Kirito prepares himself to parry the incoming attack. The attack, as Asuna has used before, is supposed to start with a leap, then a flurry of attacks from the heights with the rapier, before closed with a slam on the ground. As the name suggests, this move causes quite some delay, both upon the attacker (6 - 10 seconds of delay) and defender (good chance to get stunned).

Her usual_ Blue Blade_, a pretty strong rapier she got out of a monster drop, is heavier than this – heck, even her backup rapier, _Needle of the Revolutionaries_, which is the standard issue rapier from the guild the Undine is an admiral in, _Yellow Turban Revolutionaries_, was heavier than this.

(Her official title was _Admiral of the Water_; since the Revolutionaries was a big guild accepting members from all nine races, the Revolutionaries appointed one from each race as a representative, and another member, separate from the nine, is appointed their chief leader. She was the representative for Undine members, as expected from her race.)

Just when the blade is going to glow, however, a hand appears from nowhere, putting her hands into a handcuff and surprising all four. Then, a flashlight is seen, pointed at her. Soon enough, hilarity ensues as the glow in _Conquistador_ vanishes.

"Who are you?" Asuna asked while shielding her eyes from the glare.

"How dare you fight in a random people's rooftop? Tell me your name!" the man questioned back instead of giving an answer.

"One of the nine admirals of _Yellow Turban Revolutionaries_, Asuna," she answered.

"And you?" the man asked her opponent, pointing his flashlight towards him.

"I am Kirito," he answered without disclosing what guild he's in. This man then pointed his flashlight to the two fairies in gray cloaks.

"And me, the secretary for _The Black Temptress_, Minamoto," Minamoto answered, readying her one-handed axe, _Axe of Skurge_, behind the back of the Spriggan. Fortunately, the rooftop lies in a safe zone, and the four know that even when a big fight occur, no HP would be lost. Not. Even. One. Too bad this man seems more like a bully than a real fighter, and he doesn't know that.

"And me, the best Salamander spearman the _English Socialism_ has to offer, as well as its third-in-command, Hirasawa. You know, you've disturbed a duel. Who are you, actually?" the Salamander made a reply out of annoyance.

"The 'best'?" the man cocked his eyebrows at Hirasawa's claim.

"Perhaps it's better expressed by 'the only'; most of his Salamander guild-mates prefer lance-and-shield over a big two-handed spear," Asuna said matter-of-factly with disdain of this guy written all over her feature, which caused her to yell, "But that didn't answer the question in hand!"

"_Aincrad Police Force_, Nobita! I'm responsible to keep the peace and order of the city. Listen, you four fools! You've been charged of breach of curfew, as well as illegal gathering. You haven't behaved yourselves in a public area, too!" this man eventually disclosed his identity, as well as his race: Leprechaun.

"'Curfew'? I don't remember there's a rule about curfew within these premises," Hirasawa wondered. He knew that since the _English Socialism_ had their headquarters at Vesuvio.

* * *

_Meanwhile~_

_44th Floor – Vesuvio – Lisbeth's workshop_

"Aahh~ quite the day it was, eh?" she murmured as she stretches her body. The sign at her smithing workshop have been turned to 'CLOSED' for at least three hours before, but she have got quite some order from the _English Socialism_ – three suits of hauberks – which is to be due when the frontliners are going to fight the boss of 62nd Floor. She had just finished the third, and given the news that they had cleared 60th Floor just yesterday, she felt glad she can turn them earlier.

When she turns the knob to her bedroom and then logging out, she started to hear things. She thought these noises came from somewhere above, and instead of actually logging out, she decides to eavesdrop to this 'conversation from the sky'.

* * *

_Let's get back to the random roof._

"'Fools'? Just so you know, I'm sure none of us is weaker than you. We four are all frontliners," Minamoto started, cocking her eyebrows.

"That doesn't exclude you from the law, fool! After all, might doesn't mean right," Nobita parried. "And is that boy in black your hubby? Your guild-mate?" Nobita continued to pester Minamoto, thinking Kirito is her guild-mate, perhaps even her (in-game) wife.

"Actually, I've nothing romantic with her," Kirito said as he pointed to Minamoto. "And for the record, _The Black Temptress_, also known colloquially as 'temptress' guild' back in the frontline, is an all-female guild. There's no sense for me and you to ask admittance into that guild, even if I and her were of the same race," he continued, "although you can try its brother guild, _The Blackguard Hussars_, a.k.a. 'hussar's guild', an all-male guild. I'm an officer there," without revealing how high he is in the guild.

"For the record, too, the _Yellow Turban Revolutionaries_ is also referred to as 'the yellow guild', and the _English Socialism_, 'the red guild'" Minamoto added.

"'The red guild', eh? So your guild is a dedicated player killer, am I wrong?" Nobita pointed his glaive, a common one to boot (eh!) at Hirasawa, unbeknown to him that he is also highly skilled in unarmed combat.

"What a nonsense! It's simply because of the uniforms the guilds' members wear," Kirito answered, then the four 'un-equipped' their monochromic cloaks. True enough, Asuna's wearing a yellow shirt – with the navy blue accent every Undine Revolutionaries had – over her brigandine, with the telltale yellow headband – part of uniform of every member of the Revolutionaries; Minamoto, a black robe over her hardened leather suit with the robe decorated with a pair of white bat wings; and Hirasawa, a red cuirass with an accent of white on both his pauldrons, with a red letter V, a ribbon over the V with "INGSOC" written on it, and a pair of shaking hands – a white hand on the left side and a black one on the right, as viewed – above the ribbon decorating his white war robe. Kirito, like Minamoto, wears a black robe, this time over a mail, with it decorated with white eagle wings.

"You've gone too far! Once you met the business end of _Genshiryoku_...," Hirasawa bluffed while preparing a bare-handed stance for _Wonder Fingers _stance– a pretty powerful bare-handed stance in itself – his fingers ready to strike Nobita.

"What? You mean the _Wonder Finger_, huh? I'm sure every one of us has a pair of it," Nobita said, while showing his left middle finger (!) to the four of them, at their surprise.

"Pssst," Kirito motioned to Nobita, "please, give us a chance. This is a very rare meat you can sell for quite some Col." Nobita took the meat as Kirito pleaded with him," Uncuff us at once."

"You'd like to exchange this rotten meat with your freedom? Dream away in this dream land, fool," Nobita slapped Kirito with the meat.

"All four of you, kneel down, put your hands on your heads. I think you're going to be jailed for not less than 20 hours of gameplay, but time will be easier if you have companions in prison," Nobita commanded these four.

With a sigh, Minamoto said, "Pals, let's ignore this ignorant police. Let's choose another time and probably place for that fight." After nod from the other three, the four then flew upwards in a high speed, and Nobita can only watch them with mouth agape. "Such is the vigor of frontliners, huh?" he mumbled while, unkown to him, he walks to the edge of the roof and fell off there with a loud "WHOAAA!"

* * *

_Meanwhile, at Lisbeth's workshop~_

After eavesdropping on these 'conversations from the sky', Liz decided to get out and see for herself what's happening up there. Just after she opens the workshop's door, a Leprechaun falls straight to her doorstep. Wondering who he (she's dead sure this is a man) might be, she flinched at once once she knows who is him. "Nobita? What are you doing here?" she asked him with rage, perhaps with more essence of fury than the infamous Rageguy still popular 19 years after its conception (i.e., by the time all these fuss happen), only answered by a falling meat straight on her head.

She had heard that Nobita, an infamous fake cop, is trolling players around Vesuvio lately. In fact, the real _Aincrad Police Force_ is asking for every guild to turn this impostor to the nearest associating guild, and _English Socialism_ is among them. Since their headquarters is not far from her workshop, not to mention she's a 'party member' – the official term of _English Socialism_ for its members of all ranks – herself, she intends to to turn him to the guild's HQ, so they can turn him in to _Aincrad Police Force_. She then took him to her shoulders, intending to fly with the impostor on her back.

A few seconds of flight, and she crash-landed because this man suddenly logged out, and carrying someone that suddenly goes unconscious can really surprise the carrier with the sudden increase of perceived weight.

The four fleeing fairies were just going to adjust their flight vector to the city's teleport gate after flying upwards for a few seconds when they spotted a rumble down there, not far from the random roof they fought on (read: Lisbeth's workshop). Wondering what happens down there, they descends to meet two Leprechauns, one atop another. One of them is a familiar face – Liz, at least for Hirasawa, Asuna, and Kirito. The other, male Leprechaun, is a not-so-familiar one for all five of them.

"Oi, Liz, are you fine down there?" shouted Asuna. Lisbeth won't be surprised when she sees Hirasawa down in 44th Floor (he's her superior in the guild, and the guild lies within the city, too) as much as seeing Asuna or Kirito, but seeing all three, plus another female Spriggan, surely made her wondering what's been happening.

As they landed, Hirasawa seems surprised. "L-Liz, is this ...," he stuttered. "I'm sure this is Nobita," she responded. "I was going to turn him to the headquarter when he suddenly logged out."

'Oi, is this ...,' Kirito whispered to Asuna, to which she replied with a nod, 'Aye, Kirito-kun, it's that ignorant police.'

"Are you sure this is the right guy? I think there were at least three Leprechauns in the _Aincrad Police Force_'s wanted list," Minamoto questioned.

"Last time I checked last week, there were two males and three females from that race. The other male, Derp, was accused of petty theft and has finished his probation period of an hour. That leaves this Nobita guy. Guess I'd have to thank you for the effort, Rika-chan," Hirasawa finished with a pat on her head, followed with the sudden realization in Hirasawa's and Lisbeth's face that he had accidentally used her _real given name_ in front of three other men and a mischievous grin on Kirito's and Asuna's face. "Well, I'm sure you two are pretty close to each other," they chimed together, without each other realizing it. They do know Liz' real name, obviously.

"I-in the locational sense, at the very least," Hirasawa defended, with Lisbeth backing him, "We're neighbors in the real world too ...," only to find himself teased by Minamoto, "I don't find it's close enough for -chan, nevermind real name."

"Since I'm four, I think. My family moved to the neighborhood she's around as our house had Fukushima exploding nearby. Within those time, we got closer to each other," his head hung as he said it.

"I see. I'm sorry for salting an old wound," Minamoto tries to cheer him. He shrugs it off, "No problem." Kirito approaches him, and whispered, 'Truth be told, she may be violent at times, but deep down I'm sure she's quite friendly and can keep someone's secrets tight. I guess that goes double for real-life neighbors like you, Commander Hirasawa,' as he pats his shoulder. He got nothing from the Salamander, but he got a death-glare and puffed cheeks from his neighbor – in this world as well as the real one – as she overheard it.

"Anyway, what was that _Genshiryoku_ stance you were winding? I don't think I've heard a bare-handed stance with that name," asked Kirito, resulting in a surprised Hirasawa.

"From what I've heard, a stance of that name is to be used with a curved sword, not with a spear or empty arms. I was winding for the _Wonder Fingers_, which he saw through. It was the prize from a strange quest," answered Hirasawa.

"How strange?" Lisbeth asked with her head tilted to her right.

"Get this: to get the quest it was revealed that, among other requirements, your bare-handed skill have to be _between_ some levels. Not too low, not too high. But yes, to be in the business end of unsafe nuclear power ... I'd rather not to speak about it. It needs perfect preparation to utilize it without endangering people and earth, yet no body is perfect. And when it goes bad, it goes terribly bad," Hirasawa trailed off. "As for that bogus bare-handed stance that is _Genshiryoku_, I took it from the title of a song of a mysterious man known as Stealth Man."

"It's a protest song, huh?" Asuna asked, to which Hirasawa nods. "I have never known Liz is into this kind of songs, until last month when she was trolling along back in 58th Floor."

* * *

_Flash back_

_7 August 2027, 1549 server time  
58th Floor – the chamber before the floor boss' chamber_

Among the commotion, Lisbeth, in the _English Socialism_ attires covering her brigandine, was leaning on a wall, quietly singing to herself. What she's singing, however, wouldn't be what a typical 20-years-old girl will sing:

_Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Fukushima; rekishi no midashi ni 'hibaku' no ji  
Korinai kuni no tsutsu-uraura de miwatasu – Nihon no Genshiryoku!  
Dandori dandan bareteku  
Monoshiri shinbun wa kotaete yo: Nihon no tame yori dare no tame?_

(my rough translation:  
_Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Fukushima; they're indexed in history under 'radiation exposure'  
It oversees the entirety of this obstinate country – Japan's Nuclear Power!  
Their plans are slowly exposed  
O, informed newspaper, please answer me: if it's not for Japan's sake, then for whose?_)

Only after that commotion defeated the boss of 58th Floor – _Oberon, __The Great Ice Wyrm _– she was found humming to those tunes again, this time within his earshot as well as Asuna's.

'See that Leprechaun over there?' Hirasawa whispered to Asuna while he points at Lisbeth, to which Asuna nods. 'To be honest, I wouldn't expect, of all people, for a girl her age to sing such a sarcastic protest song.' 'What kind of protest song?' asked Asuna. 'Stealth Man's _Nuclear Power_. The song jabs straight to critic how nuclear power is used.' It leaves Asuna with her mouth open wide, since she, too, wouldn't expect Shinozaki Rika, of all person, to listen, never mind sing, to a protest song, never mind one with such ... direct lyrics.

* * *

_Fast forward_

_4 September 2027, 2322 server time  
Floor 44 – Vesuvio – in front of Lisbeth's workshop_

"It was ... ridiculous in hindsight. But why did she sing to it?" asked the Revolutionary.

"If anything, about six weeks ago, there was a rumor around our neighborhood that a nuclear power plant will be built near the neighborhood. I guess...," Hirasawa's answer was cut off by Lisbeth, "There would be no guessing, Commander. It was the reason. Speaking of Stealth Man, I wonder what've happened to him?"

"God knows. Well, before midnight falls, let's swear an oath that what happens here are only between us, okay? Make sure that no body knew about this, especially the Revolutionary's Marshal of the Air. Just write your name and what guild you're in. After that, you three may do whatever you wish. Liz, give me a hand to carry this impostor," the Salamander decides to end this encounter.

"Marshal of the Air ...," Asuna mumbled, "did you meant Leafa?" she, as well as a surprised Kirito, asked to him, to which he nods. "Kirito, they say you and her are siblings. I know it's impolite, but are you?"

"Blood _cousins_, actually. But yeah, we live in the same house. Just make sure you keep this a secret, too," Kirito answered uneasily.

After everyone got their chance to write and Hirasawa took the paper as a proof, Kirito, Asuna, and Minamoto dispersed their way, while Hirasawa and Lisbeth were taking care of Nobita. After they arrived in the HQ, they carried Nobita to an underground jail beneath the headquarter, dubbed the 'Chestnut Tree Jail' by the members, and locks him there. The next time this Nobita logs in, he'd be surprised.

But he wasn't the _only_ one to be surprised. The next day, Eugene (This Eugene is the same one with the one that led the attack on Sylph - Cait Sith conference about two-and-a-half years ago. Thanks to a popular TV show, he's also known as 'Eugene Krab' in the frontline, to his discomfort), the Commander of the _English Socialism_, was surprised as well when he saw his third-in-command slept in a dungeon wall with a female blacksmith, both sitting at opposing sides of the dungeon.

The two, in fact, has their time of being surprised too.

* * *

After they had locked Nobita, Lisbeth asked him after she looks around, "Ngg ... is it safe to use our real name here?"

"Well ... go ahead."

"Commander Atsushi, what do you think about that Stealth Man's fate?"

"How many times I have to told you, Rika-chan? When we're by ourselves, just drop that 'Commander', I'm sick of it," Hirasawa playfully scolded her.

"Fine, you got it, Atsushi," she responded with a sigh, "Anyway, after Mr Hirasawa said in a social media that this Stealth Man have assaulted him at least twice, he simply disappears, without Mr Hirasawa requesting police investigation even years after his assault. What struck me as strange, Mr Hirasawa have also said in that same social media that this Stealth Man have struck 'one of the followers he had planned to rouse'. Don't you find it strange that the man he had struck also had not requested investigation all those time?"

"Well, Rika-chan, I don't know who actually composed the song, but I'm sure the entire saga was one of those trolling gags used by my uncle," his speech is, again, cut short with the realization that he had accidentally revealed something he's not really like to reveal in Aincrad: that Hirasawa Susumu, a world-famous musician, is his uncle. The Stealth Man saga is not exactly something that a random man simply knows; when one knew that saga quite well, you can be sure that (s)he's a fan of Hirasawa. The fact that his neighbor has been his uncle's fan for all this time, without him knowing, is too much for him.

She was surprised when she heard this, too. She wouldn't expect that the neighbor she'd grown with has been his nephew all along. Sure, she had knew that his username is the same as his family name (_**A/N: the only canon case I'm aware of about using one's real name is Asuna (who uses her given name)**_), but she hadn't laid suspicions about his relation to Hirasawa Susumu yet, since Hirasawa is a relatively common family name, "You ... you're really his nephew?"

"Mm. Rika-chan, keep this a secret, OK?" asked Hirasawa Atsushi as he nods. As she agreed to keep it a secret, he approaches her, making her confusion clears as he hugs her. "Yes, Commander Atsushi," she said – apparently when she nods, she wasn't finished yet.

"I told you to drop that 'Commander' when we're by ourselves!"

"Aye, Commander!" Liz trolled him, then their laugh explodes.

* * *

There was probably more down in the 'Chesnut Tree Jail' if memory correctly serves me, but it is a story of its own, methinks.

_Fin_

* * *

_**A/N: Yup, AFAIK, the Stealth Man saga (usually) isn't something one simply knows without being a Hirasawa fan.**_

_**Hirasawa stated that he would never write such a straightforward lyrics, but even then some fans speculated that Stealth Man is Hirasawa Susumu himself. I, then, used the middle ground (that Stealth Man and Mr Hirasawa are different, but they cooperated to make **_**Genshiryoku**_** popular) to explain what Atsushi believes about the Stealth Man Saga to Rika (and ultimately, to the reader as well).**_

_**Regarding Rika's age, I hope it's close enough. **_**:3**


End file.
